[Fe(C6Me6)2] is a 20 VE iron(0) complex. An example to include in your undergraduate teaching materials from @townrowresearch.bsky.social. ASAP in Organometallics doi.org/10.1021/acs....
Revisiting the Fe(0) Sandwich Complex [Fe(C6Me6)2], Structural Solution to a 64-Year-Old Mystery
In this communication, we revisit one of E. O. Fischer’s seminal discoveries to solve a textbook question: is the iron(0) complex [Fe(C6Me6)2] an 18-valence-electron complex with a ‘ring-slip’ (η6,η4) configuration like its heavier congener [Ru(C6Me6)2] or a 20-valence-electron complex with an (η6,η6) configuration like its neighbor [Co(C6Me6)2]+? Using modern single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques intertwined with density functional theory, we present the first crystallographically characterized iron(0) bis(arene) complex, [Fe(C6Me6)2], demonstrating that iron opts to violate the 18-electron rule, favouring two aromatic arene ligands.
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